The world went quiet.
Silence deafened me.
"I think it's for the best." Blue eyes studied me solemnly.
"...For the best... Right."
"I'm sorry." Edward whispered, like he meant it.
"I am too..."
"Jasmine." He sighed my name. "I love you, but... Not like I used to."
I sighed too.
"I feel the same way.. But it's weird..."
"I know." He closed his eyes, and breathed deeply, as if recollecting himself.
I hugged knees like I usually did when I was nervous or confused.
"Oi, Ed?" I asked slowly.
"Jasmine."
"Ah... Are we still friends?"
He surprised me by laughing, long and loud.
"Are you freaking kidding me? Of course! I couldn't fathom the thought!." He laughed again.
I laughed too. "Just checking."
"You're so unsure of everything." He accused.
I pretended to be offended. "Oh, please. You're so cool and nonchalant about everything! What's your deal, Mister?"
He looked baffled.
"You think I'm nonchalant about this? Please, Jazz. I was up all night trying to sort how I felt about this." He frowned at me.
The truth was, I spent a lot of my time thinking about our relationship, too.
We were silent for a while. My thoughts wandered about, thinking about what we we'd just said, and how things would be from now on...
He broke the silence.
"Where would you say we were at now?" Edward asked.
"Ne?" I looked over at him.
"Where would you say we were at now, in our relationship?" He asked me.
"Hm.... Gee. I would say now... You're my nakama or my aniki, at the least." I added.
"Nakama? Really? I thought you would have demoted me to
tomodachi or shiriai at the least." He teased.
"You will always be my friend, Edward. Never an acquaintance."
He sighed in relief. "You'll always be my nakama, Jasmine."
We hugged each other, and happy tears trickled down my face.
*************************
I was walking to my family's car, when my mom asked me, "Hi Jasmine, how was your walk?"
I smiled. "It was nice. It's great weather."
I buckled in, and switched on my i Pod. I flipped through my songs, and fast forwarded to the line I wanted to hear.
'When you love someone
And they break your heart
don’t give up on love
Have faith, restart
Just hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on'

And now I feel fine.